Crowds of mourners gathered in Kerman, the hometown of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, for his burial. A stampede reportedly led to at least 50 deat
Crowds of mourners gathered in Kerman, the hometown of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, for his burial. A stampede reportedly led to at least 50 deaths and hundreds injured crowds turned out in the hometown, Kerman for an enormous funeral procession. His burial has now been postponed.
There was no information as to what had set off the stampede. Initial videos posted online showed people lying lifeless on a road and others shouting and trying to help them. No new date has been set for his burial.
“Unfortunately as a result of the stampede, some of our compatriots have been injured and some have been killed during the funeral processions,” he earlier said. In delaying Soleimani’s burial, authorities cited concerns about the massive crowd that had gathered, the semi-official ISNA news agency said.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of “mass panic” as thousands of people converged in the city. The general’s flag-draped coffin was making itself slowly along the streets of the city of Kerman when the deadly stampede broke out.
General Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad on Friday. In response, Iran pledged “severe revenge” on the US. Speaking to crowds in Kerman, Hossein Salami, the leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, threatened to “set ablaze” any places supported by the US.
“The martyr Qassem Soleimani is more powerful now that he is dead,” he added while addressing crowds. “The enemy killed him unjustly.”
“Our will is firm,” he proclaimed. “We also tell our enemies that we will take revenge, and that if they [attack us] we will set fire to what they love,” he told the sea of black-clad mourners. “Expelling the United State from the region has already begun.”
The gathered crowds responded “Death to Israel!” His words mirrored those of other top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Some also chanted “Death to America!” and “Death to Trump!”
Soleimani’s remains, along with those of the others killed in the US airstrike, were initially brought to the central square of the desert city of Kerman. Soleimani was very popular in his home province.
“The security of the whole world, Muslims, Shiites, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and especially Iran, all owe it to him,” mourner Hemmat Dehghan told AFP news agency.
“Haj Qassem was not only loved in Kerman, or Iran, but also the whole world,” he added. Trump and other US allies maintain that Soleimani caused a great deal of pain and suffering throughout the Middle East. His killing has prompted a crisis in the Middle East. Iran officially announced their withdrawal from the nuclear deal which limited their nuclear capacity and the Iraqi parliament voted to remove all US troops from Iraq.
